


christmas eve dates and red panda plushies

by hibiscusmemoirs



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: #secretA3_2020, Christmas Eve, First Date, M/M, arcade date, itaru keeps getting teased by chikage lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:14:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28480722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hibiscusmemoirs/pseuds/hibiscusmemoirs
Summary: “...And exactly how many tries did it take for you to get this little guy?”Chikage held up one finger.“Senpai, you cheat chara!”
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru/Utsuki Chikage
Comments: 2
Kudos: 60





	christmas eve dates and red panda plushies

**Author's Note:**

> For [@sakyosfloormat](https://twitter.com/sakyosfloormat) in the A3! Secret Santa 2020!

_ "Hey, senpai," Itaru spoke up while not looking up from his phone due to a round of gaming, "are you free this coming 24th?" _

_ Chikage hummed in thought, eyes still focused on the novel he was reading. “Christmas Eve, right? I’m free in the afternoon on that day. Why though?” _

_ The blonde male paused his game, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. "I was thinking of... Well..." _

_ "Going out on a date?" Chikage blurted out, closing his novel shut and catching his junior off-guard with the reply. "Or was I mistaken?" _

_ Carnelian eyes averted its gaze from pewter ones as heat crept its way to Itaru's face and tinging it with a shade of red. "N-No, not really..." He muttered as he looked at his paused game. "I mean, it's fine if you don't—" _

_ "I'll go." _

_ Chikage’s lips had curved to a smile when Itaru looked back up at him again. “I’ll go out with you, Chigasaki,” the green-haired male finished as he set down his novel on the coffee table and stood up. Chikage noticed the way his junior’s eyes lit up like a delighted little child when he heard that. _

_ It amused him in a way. _

_ “Let’s meet near the Christmas tree in the plaza around 4 in the afternoon. Would that be alright for you, senpai?” The blonde male asked, unpausing and now focusing back to his game now. “I’ll be leaving the dorms early since there are a few things I’d like to do before then.” _

_ “That sounds alright with me.” The senior shrugged his shoulders before walking towards the door. “Looking forward to what you have planned then, Chigasaki,” was what Chikage said before exiting 103.  _

* * *

Itaru stood alone at the plaza nearby the tall, white Christmas tree at the middle of the venue. It was already a few minutes past the time they scheduled, yet it was still unusually someone like Chikage to be late.

“What’s taking senpai so long...?” The blonde male mumbled to himself as he glanced once again at his wristwatch. “He did mention that he was on his way, but that was about half an hour ago... Did something happen?”

As if on cue, a hand landed on top of Itaru’s hair, mildly startling him. He spun around to see who it was, only to see that it was actually Chikage. "Whaー Senpai? What took you so long?"

He noticed that his senpai was holding what he assumed to be hot coffee on his other hand. Chikage gave Itaru a small, brown paper bag. “Here, to compensate for the delay,” he said. “I also figured that it would be suitable on a chilly day like this.”

Itaru stole a quick glance at the beverage in Chikage's hand before peeking inside the paper bag. Inside it contained a beverage similar to what Chikage might have as well as a few snacks. 

_ So that's why it was familiar, _ he told himself as a smile made its way to his lips.

"Thank you, senpai." He carefully fished out the beverage from the bag and took a sip. "Ah, this flavor is..."

"Caramel frappuccino, your favorite.” Chikage puts a fist under his chin as if thinking. “You've mentioned it a few times in the office, and you occasionally even bring coffee on crunch days."

A wave of embarrassment caused Itaru’s face to flush as he took another swig of his beverage. “Well, those days were quite stressful, senpai. I don’t think I’ll survive crunch days without any caffeine in my system," he remarked as they began walking away from the plaza center.

The green haired man let out a chuckle, causing his junior’s face to flush redder. “Anyway, what plans do you have for us on this date today, Chigasaki?” He asked before drinking from his own beverage.

"Well," the blonde spoke up beside him, "aside from the shopping for Christmas gifts, I was expecting you to figure out what I planned today, senpai." Itaru was grinning at Chikage, who had an eyebrow raised in question.

Suddenly, Itaru stopped walking, causing Chikage to stop in his tracks as well. The latter wondered why the blonde suddenly stopped until he looked up at the signage. “Chigasaki, why did you take me to an arcade of all places?”

The younger male grabbed hold of the older male’s hand as they went inside the arcade. “Oh, come on, senpai. It’s kind of boring to go to an arcade alone, y’know? Besides…” The next part became inaudible mumbling from the junior. 

“I’d rather ask you to come to the arcade with me even if you might use your cheat chara skills…”

“What was that, Chigasaki?” Chikage behind him asked.

“Nothing, I didn’t say anything.” Itaru’s cheeks flushed red. “You’re probably just imagining it,” he said before letting go of his senior’s hand when they reached the counter (much to his dismay, but how will he pay for the game credits that they’ll use then?)

The green haired male looked around the arcade machines and saw a particular crane game that had stuffed toys as prizes. It was of the huggable kind, and one of the stuffed toys inside the machine was a giant red panda.

Itaru’s voice made Chikage tear his gaze from the machine. “I got us some credits.” The blonde flashed a card with the arcade’s logo at the corner in his hand. “Now, which game will we play first?”

“Hey, Chigasaki, is it alright if we spare a bit of credits later?” The older male inquired, his pewter eyes quickly glancing at the same crane game machine behind Itaru. “There’s something I want to try, but I’ll save it for later instead.”

The junior blinked, but he decided not to question his senior’s intentions. “Whatever you say, senpai.” His hand reached for Chikage’s hand once again and dragged him to whichever game Itaru wanted.

* * *

It has been an hour and a half since Itaru and Chikage started playing in the arcade. They went through shooting games (they were secret agents but they only made it through half the game), dancing games (Itaru was out of breath after just one song), and air hockey (Chikage was always a point or two ahead of Itaru, and the latter only won twice against the former in five games).

The two are currently at different spots in the arcade. Itaru was trying out his luck in a ball drop game while Chikage went off somewhere else.

A rubber ball dropped on the spinning roulette when the blonde pressed the red button. His carnelian eyes monitored the ball carefully, hoping it would drop into the jackpot hole.

“C’mon… c’mon…”

_ Drop! _

The ball dropped into the “5” hole, followed by five tickets being dispensed from the ticket slot. 

A sigh of defeat escaped the young man’s lips as he tore the fifth ticket from the slot and placed it inside the basket of tickets beside him. 

“At least we earned something, even if it’s just a small amount of tickets,” he told himself before checking the time on his wristwatch.

It was almost dinner time, and they were still supposed to buy a few more Christmas gifts for the troupe. “I should go look for senpai,” Itaru mumbled as he scanned for his green haired senior in the arcade.

All of the sudden, something soft was placed on top of Itaru’s head, startling him for the nth time today. When the blonde male took the item from his head, he noticed that it was actually a red panda stuffed toy.

“Do you like it, Chigasaki?” Chikage spoke up from behind.

His junior turned around, wrapping his arms around the plushie. “Admittedly, yes,” he replied with lips curving into a smile. “Thank you, senpai.”

“I noticed it in one of the crane machines when you bought credits a while ago.” The senior shrugged his shoulders. “It was also the reason why I asked to spare some credits before we go.” He fished for the card in his pocket before giving it back to Itaru.

“...And exactly how many tries did it take for you to get this little guy?”

Chikage held up one finger.

“Senpai, you cheat chara!”

The older male simply rolled his eyes as he walked past the younger one. “Whatever you say, Chigasaki.”

Heat rose up to Itaru’s cheeks once Chikage went ahead of him. Nonetheless, a smile creeps its way to his face. “L-Let’s go, senpai. We still have to buy some Christmas gifts,” he said with a tone of fake annoyance as he caught up to his senior.

* * *

It was a little bit past 6 in the evening when the pair had finished shopping for gifts and were now on the way home. It was a silent walk home, however, but not there was not a bit of awkwardness in it. Itaru was hugging the red panda stuffed toy, occasionally burying his face in it due to how soft it is, while Chikage stared at the full moon shining above them as they walked home to the dorms.

“Hey, senpai.”

“What is it, Chigasaki?”

Itaru looked up at his senior beside him with a smile. “Thank you… for accompanying me today.”

“You’re welcome.” Chikage’s hand proceeded to give his junior a head pat. “But please don’t ask me out for another arcade date next time.”

The younger male’s lips curved to a smirk. “Even if I did ask you out again whether or not it is an arcade date, you know you couldn’t say ‘no’, senpai.”

“I beg to differ.”

***


End file.
